<INTERVIEW 2 - SIMON BELL>

AN INTERVIEW WITH SIMON BELL
Colleague and Close Friend of Dusty Springfield
August 2002

1. You first met Dusty as a fan--chasing her taxi cab through the streets of Glasgow at one point! At that early stage, what was it about her and her music that fired your enthusiasm?

I was first aware of Dusty when she was in The Springfields. Her personality shone through, and of course the occasional glimpses of that voice--rich, vibrant, utterly captivating. In those early months after she went solo, she introduced me to a whole new kind of music. I'd never heard Motown until she started recording it and praising it in the press. I remember scouring obscure record stores in Glasgow, buying up all the back catalogues of people like Marvin Gaye, and others not on Motown like Betty Everett.

2. You went from being a devoted fan to a devoted and trusted backing singer and friend. How did this come about?

I had the good fortune to be in the right place at the right time. I was staying at [singer] Madeline Bell's London flat while we did a cabaret stint north of London. We arrived home in the middle of the night to find Dusty's voice on the answering machine asking Madeline's advice on finding backing singers for her promotional trip to the U.K. for her new single "A Love Like Yours" [1978]. Madeline looked at me and said "This is it, kid!"

Later, when she called to ask me to sing for her on stage at Drury Lane, I had already bought my tickets as a fan! I'll never forget those concerts. The emotions in the theatre were palpable. I really had to hold myself in check, as I really wanted to go mad with the crowd.

[Then] there came a moment when Dusty called me in the middle of the night from her hotel room and asked if I'd come over. I didn't hesitate though worried the whole way there in a cab about what I might find. But she was O.K. We sat up all night talking and laughing. I guess I'd passed the test.

3. As a singer, can you talk about Dusty's vocal style and technique? How would you describe her voice from a technical standpoint? How did it develop and change over the years? How did Dusty adapt and/or respond to these changes?

This answer could take a great deal of time. I don't think there was one technique or style. Her greatest gift was the ability to sing anything. Folk, jazz, soul, huge ballads--she could handle them all, and always better than anyone else around. Those early TV shows have moments where in one camera shot she stops singing a Motown raver, walks across to her acoustic guitar, sits down and sings an Irish folk song. Could Aretha have done that convincingly?

For me, Dusty's two greatest vocal gifts were her ability to be so joyous on songs like "Won't Be Long," soaring as high as any Soul Diva, coupled with her ability to take us to points of total desolation, like the moment in "I Can't Make It Alone" when she sings the words "help me . . ." It drips with pathos. But of course, it wasn't so much technique as truth.

Her approach changed over the years. In the early sixties she sang in full "throat" voice, belting out the high notes. Later, however, from Dusty in Memphis (1968) on, she increasingly used her "head" voice, or falsetto, which gives a lighter, more relaxed feel. I find this less endearing, and that's why I prefer the early recordings.

4. Had Dusty not been so untimely taken by cancer, it what direction do you think (or would've liked to have seen) her career go?

I would have liked her to have recorded albums of great songs--and people like Carole King and Burt Bacharach are still writing them. Imagine Dusty singing "God Give Me Strength", which Elvis Costello did with Burt Bacharach. I also felt in the latter years, that an artist of her calibre shouldn't be slogging it out for chart positions with the current stars.

5. When you were interviewed for the BBC documemtary Definitely Dusty, you spoke of the change in the British pop scene that Dusty brought about--especially for women. Can you say more about Dusty's significance in the history of British pop music?

White "girl singers" before Dusty were rooted in the fifties image of people like Brenda Lee. There's nothing wrong with that, Brenda Lee was great. But, in a similar way to Elvis, Dusty brought the influence of Black music into what was acceptable for a white girl singer. After her first album, all the other girls were covering U.S. Soul hits, but no one did it as convincingly as Dust. She will forever be regarded as Britain's greatest ever pop vocalist.

6. Another person interviewed for Definitely Dusty remarked that "Dusty hated singing" and that "her only motivation [for singing] was money." From your experience of Dusty, how accurate are these comments? How would you describe Dusty's relationship to her art?

Mmmm . . . I suspect that the person who said that wishes she could rewind the tape and start again. You know, it's intimidating being interviewed with a camera in your face; you are under pressure to come up with entertaining answers. And there's no script. Dusty most certainly did not hate singing. I think as the years went on, she found it harder and harder to want to go through the hours of preparation that it took to "become" Dusty, the star. That's what she hated. I'm not sure she had much of a relationship to her art once it was "in the can." She was not into sitting at home listening to herself, but she knew she had done important work.

7. Recently, much has been written about Dusty's "wilderness" years in the United States (1973-1989). A lot of what has been emphasised is quite negative. In your view, were there any positive things to come out of Dusty's years in the United States?

She recorded some good work. On It Begins Again (1978) there is a new maturity in Dusty's singing--it's altogether more adult. She breathes honesty into Barry Manilow's "Sandra"--a song that with a lesser singer could be pure schmaltz. And "I'd Rather Leave While I'm In Love" can stand beside her greatest work of the sixties. But, frankly, I wish she'd stayed here.

8. I recently had the opportunity to view the Royal Albert Hall concert of 1979--in which you played an important part. It was a very moving, very powerful event. Can you share some of your memories of this evening and of the Drury Lane concerts?

Dusty wasn't overly happy with the Royal Albert Hall concert, though given the lack of rehearsals it really wasn't so bad. I remember a young Annie Lennox coming backstage and I had to explain to Dusty who she was. (The Tourists had just had a hit with "I Only Want To Be With You").

Dusty Springfield in concert at (left) the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in April 1979,
and (right) the Royal Albert Hall, December 3, 1979.

We prepared in rehearsal rooms for a couple of weeks before Drury Lane. I still have the tapes, and the atmosphere is very relaxed and funny. At one point Dusty sings "It had nothing to do with the wine--wanna bet!" on "I Close My Eyes And Count To Ten". But before the Albert Hall show we had hardly any rehearsals. The other two girls were changed from Drury Lane. Vicki Brown of The Breakaways, and Lavinia Rogers were brought in as they were great "readers" (meaning they could sight read the music--I had to memorise it!). There were a number of very difficult medley's that were a nightmare on stage. You can see Dusty react to one of our "bum" notes on "We Are Family".

9. What are your favourite Dusty songs and/or albums? What is it about them that makes them so special for you?

At last an easy one! My favourite songs are "I Had A Talk With My Man", "Won't Be Long", If It Hadn't Been For You" and "I Think It's Going To Rain Today". And why? 'Cause she's so bloody great on them!

10. What do you miss most about your friend, Dusty?

Knowing she's there.

11. What's happening in your life at the moment? Any projects in the works? What are some hopes and aspirations you can share?

Well, I'm having to do a 9-5 office job which doesn't sit too well with me, but I have to earn a living. Fortunately they let me go on tour with the James Last Orchestra when that comes up. We're about to go to China in September for a tour. Then we do Germany, Denmark, Austria and Belgium for five weeks in October/November. There are whispers of an American Tour next year. That would be so great.

Simon Bell - August, 2002

12. What would like to see accomplished by the two movies currently being planned about Dusty's life and music? Will you be working on either or both of these in an advisory capacity?

I would like the movies to tell Dusty's story without being tempted to descend to the gutter, but I'm nervous about them. I haven't been approached in an advisory capacity, though I am in regular contact with the U.S. side, and had lunch with the actress hoping to play Dusty.

13. In closing, would you like to share anything else with fans and admirers of Dusty who are reading this interview?

Just be assured, that despite the traumas in part of her life, she showed great strength and serenity in later times.